Sunrise
by Breloom
Summary: Tawny Lea becomes a victim of circumstance one bitter night and must fight with all she has to see the sunrise. But what caused this attack in the first place?
1. Chapter 1

It was the silence that woke her.

Startled and not quite sure why, Tawny Lea's waking thoughts were a bleary realization that everything was still. The night had been torn apart by lightning and noise; menacing wind whistles and great crashes of thunder with the occasional thunk of falling ice.

She felt a dark chill in the room that always seemed to settle after something awful happened, or perhaps before….  
That woke her up, and without really thinking the dog pulled off her blankets. She grimaced at the freezing feeling that settled on her seconds after.

Cringing and sucking her breath in Tawny Lea attempted to hide under the covers to get the heat back. She failed to regain any warmth, which only served to further exaggerate the strange dread that seemed to slink through the shadows.

She tried to ignore that, but it worked as well as getting warm again did. So instead of sitting there Tawny moved to the side of the bed and listened to the house, worried that something had happened while she slept. She heard only a slight wind and her sleeping Doodle, nothing more.

Tawny stood up and shivered in darkness; she wondered if the heater gone off.  
She pulled a thick pair of Toon gloves over her trembling hands and slipped a slightly wrinkled jacket on in a vain attempt to ward off the terrible cold.

After a moment she started to pace, saying nothing to the nothingness of the room. Her friend had left early for the day; her job at the local hospital had called her away in the middle of the night. Some emergency case or another, she didn't say. Probably someone near froze over or maybe a slip on a banana peel.

Tawny sighed and thought over how she ended up in the middle of the Brrrgh. This visit was certainly not in her plans (and arctic storms weren't her idea of a good time) but she had come anyway. She could recall her friend trying to get her to stop by even though it was close to the start of another unforgiving winter. She had accepted the offer after the bear Toon had gone quiet trying to express a plea that couldn't be put into words. That silence from her friend had made its own noise -a sort of exaggerated absence of sound that hurt her head. After a moment of that she accepted the invitation because Tawny Lea knew that hidden in Snow Swirl's head was a lonely Toon that came out on the worst days. The darkest and most bitter cold days where sometimes everything wasn't enough…

Not even Snow's Doodle was there to help her feel better since her since he had left with the bear Toon. He liked to tag along to cheer up the Sad or hurting Toons doing tricks

_It must've been a bad case…  
_  
Tawny's own pet was buried in a basket. The normally lively red Doodle August was sleeping so deep and slow that, nestled in her blanket, you could scarcely hear her breathe. Even putting a jellybean under her spotted nose failed to rouse her after a day of hard training.

Tawny saw in her peripheral vision a soft light beckoning her to the window. And since the sparsely furnished guest room was otherwise totally dark she went to seek some form of comfort or at least something to distract her.  
She shuddered and hesitated a few feet from the window, which, softly illuminated by some unseen source began to frighten her though she could not exactly say why.

She listened hard for any footsteps, clicks, hushed whispers, or even the wind.  
Still nothing stirred within or without the house.

Unable to handle the mounting unease she drew the curtains back quick as she could. To her relief it was the frozen moon and burning stars that made everything glow. Whiteness covered the entire estate; from here Tawny could see the pond had frosted over with a light skin of ice. From her vantage point she saw nothing out of place for the Brrrgh. Shaking again with renewed uneasiness she was jolted far from sleep; miles and miles from it in the eye of the storm.

The dog suddenly felt very much alone. She didn't want to be here with no one at all, not which the distant bangs and roars of an angry blizzard. Sure August was a warm body, but she was gone to the world 'til sunup at least.

Moving as quickly as she could to the spare Wardrobe she put on her heaviest snow gear and debated her options. She could turn on all the lights and crank the heat to full blast; she could watch pointless shows on the small television in the living room. And she could shiver in the warmth that staved off only the low temperature…

_And I could run up Snow's bills like crazy doing that. _She gave a pained smile to no one as she thought that.

The crack of electric zigzags flashed brilliant illumination through the uncovered window. For a long moment everything turned harsh white-blue. After a second that seemed to run too slow, the blackness returned.

She had another option, though it sounded crazy.

She could go out.

The idea seemed ludicrous, and although the storm seemed to have passed the temperature must be in the negatives... And even more importantly, where would she go?

Well, there were always stores that stayed open all night, a few hardy hotels also glowed their availability through the darkness. Some local gathering places were open 24 hours and perhaps she could visit the hospital to see her friend. Unfortunately that plan hinged upon things being slow enough for Snow to be allowed to be torn from her work.

Tawny was still worried, and dreadfully cold. Moving as quickly as she could through to the other room she tried to flip on the living room light. There was a click, a click that should have marked the room flooding with light. To her quiet panic and confusion, nothing happened.

The power had gone out.

For a moment she started blankly at the switch, and then started slowly moving to the living room window. Everything still shone silently.

Struck with an idea, she walked quickly to the phone. She recalled somewhere that phones usually still stayed on even during power failures, especially the old phones that came with every Toon house. These old model phones meant relatively few people to call. A few switches and a rotary dial was all it had. Of course there was always Clarabelle's Cattlelog, and some emergency numbers along with friends that used similar telephones. Tawny told herself that she'd convince Snow to get a more modern system, like the one she got installed in her home, when she saw her again.

She started at the archaic device, trying to remember how to call anyone on it.

Tawny Lea eyed it a moment before she started flicking switches. Tawny punched some numbers in, hoping her muscle memory would come through, turned the crank and put the ear piece to her head. If she was honest with herself she knew she didn't recall which line (if any) she was calling because she had never memorized the number and switch combinations, she had begun to rely on her own sleek phone's quick dial. Consequently she had pretty much forgotten the ones she thought she would remember.

Her hopes rose for a moment as the phone let out several shrill rings before crashing as an automatic operator told her she had dialed an invalid or out of service number. She tried several times with other variations, even at one point opening the curtains to let the feeble night glow in so she could see slightly better. After several frustrating minutes without a successful connection, she gave up.

Cursing quietly she knew her options had become even more limited than before. She could stay in a house without heat or electricity until Snow Swirl returned and they could figure something out. Or she could suck it up and venture out to find another Toon to report the outage to, all the while worrying about the blizzard swinging around to attack again.

Both choices sounded terrible, but hurrying out was the lesser of the two evils. And while it wouldn't be pleasant, it had to be done.

But of course, in hindsight, everything is 20/20.


	2. Chapter 2

Before she left she took a look at her meager supplies and made a mental list: level three and four Gags, her Sticker Book, a thick woolen cap along with her snow boots and clothes, and a small stash of Jellybeans. She decided to tuck away an extra cream pie slice in case she got hungry.

'This is all I could use', she thought.

Tawny felt even more reason for worry now; she knew her Gags were weak for the Neighborhood she was in. The fact that she was only nearing completion with Daisy Gardens' ToonTasks did little to raise her confidence. From what she had seen the Cogs were much stronger here than what she was used to dealing with. Even the common variants were several times tougher than what they were in Donald's Dock or Daisy Gardens. She would have to be very fast and as careful as she could to avoid them tonight. A confrontation had the potential to end very badly and take precious time away from her if she managed to get away.

She left some of her Jellybeans in a dish on the floor for August and patted the sleeping Doodle's head, saying without words that she would be back soon. August did not stir.

Tawny Lea shook her head, she was delaying the inevitable.

It was time to venture outside.

As she walked to the front hallway she was struck by how sad and lonely the house looked with no light or color.  
Opening the door to the house she realized that it was even more eerie and bitterly frozen than it was inside. Everything was coated in snow and ice that reflected the bright moonlight like jewelry in the sun. Looking around she didn't fail to see the beauty, though Tawny would definitely have been appreciated more if she did not have to fear the weather.

The dog moved to the path that led to the gate, eying the shadows warily. Though Cogs wouldn't jump out at her here, it hardly comforted her.

Walking for a few minutes after passing Snow Swirl's property line Tawny took out her Sticker Book and ran her gloved hand over the cover. It was more a means of comfort than anything else. She knew how important this book was to her right now; a lifeline back home... Flipping absently through it she saw her Toontasks. Tawny thought she was almost done with the Gardens and was glad for that. The Tasks for Sellbot Headquarters made her nervous.  
She remembered her instructions from different Shop Keepers and Officers: Go to Sellbot HQ and recover memos, information and even do factory runs.

She had instinctively disliked the grey, dreary, and almost dirty appearance that dominated the whole area. And the way the Sellbots looked at her, like she was an ugly splotch of paint on their clean suits, had really put her on edge. While it seemed other Toons never had any concerns with the HQ or fighting the Cogs up to and including the VP himself Tawny had never wanted that. She had taken the opportunity to get away from Cog territory as fast as she could.

Putting her book carefully back into her jacket pocket she decided to stop as she reached a hill. Climbing up and looking in the direction of other distant residences she saw very few lights on, and thought their power must've been knocked out as well. Since so few places were likely to have power at the moment Tawny thought a Toon HQ would be the best place to go. She felt slightly warmer at the thought that she would be helping other Toons, which helped her push on even as she felt the temperature drop slightly.

Time was not on Tawny's side. Not even a little bit. The wind had begun to kick up and rattled the trees; whistling as it went. Nothing was falling yet but there was a heavy fog rolling in. Tawny Lea quickened her pace as visibility began to drop steadily until she was flat out jogging through walls of fog.  
After another few minutes more she stopped at on the few streetlights not broken from falling ice and leaning against it, breathing hard. Looking up she saw its glow, indistinct and distant like a star masked by clouds. The tawny dog cursed herself for her decision. Her gamble had failed, failed spectacularly even, and she hated her decision now that it was clear that the storm was coming back as a full blown blizzard. She knew there were no good choices to make in this situation so Tawny decided she could feel stupid later, once she was safe and somewhere warm.

Tawny suddenly realized that she hadn't seen or heard anyone else during her trek. Not even a Cog. Her stomach sank as she peered about herself, she could see nothing.

No buildings, no horizon.

Nothing at all.

She tried to tamp down her panic as the wind began to really start making noise and quickly decided it wasn't worth staying out when even the Cogs weren't about. Taking out her Sticker Book she felt relief as she opened it, but then something cold was on the back of her neck. Not simply the chill blasts of air either… it felt like a hand. Tawny Lea heard a hiss, so quiet against the malevolent howl that she thought she imagined it

Then the storm hit.

Snow and sound exploded around her and the hand's grip was like iron and as she fought to turn around to see who it was. Then there was pain, and flashes of white hot light starbusrting in her head against a dark dark backdrop. Coldness seeped into her, numbing her mind and body as the hands (attached to skinny arms) tried to grip her face.  
She screamed and the wind screamed back; almost seeming to mock her.

Tawny Lea remembered her Gags she reached into her pouch and pulled the first thing that she felt.  
It was a whole fruit pie that she threw wildly and she felt half the pie connect with something and the other half disappeared, blown somewhere far away. Whoever it was got thrown off balance, using that to her advantage she thrust her arm out and shoved the thing into the nearby lamppost. It glowed like a beacon is darkness, but she knew that she needed to run away from that light and into the whiteout.

So she ran blindly through what felt like a cold nothingness.


	3. Chapter 3

The panic-stricken Dog did not stop running until she reached a path that branched off of the street. The fog was slightly lesser here, and the buildings acted as a merciful windbreak As she stumbled forward she nearly fell into a small ice blue pool; barely managing to stop herself from plunging into the subzero waters. After catching her breath somewhat she recognized the spot she was at: a fishing pond. The area was so deserted during this beast of a storm that even the fisherman was gone. This fact only worsened her steadily fraying nerves.

The wind shrieked angrily, or had it been something else? Her thoughts trailed into a super fast string of questions. What had attacked her? Why would it bother in the first place? Was there something more dangerous than high level Cogs stalking the streets? In the middle of a blizzard?

But these questions certainly weren't going to get answered out here… She had to get a grip on things if she was going to get out of this.

She tried to steady herself and get her bearings. She was at a street pond, which meant she should either be close to the Playground or the entrance to another Neighborhood. If that was the case either way she could seek shelter. Though… there was the sickening possibility of her being close to-

No, she didn't want to think about that. She couldn't be close to… THERE. This was already nightmarish enough; she couldn't be that unlucky could she?  
But she had to keep moving, otherwise that thing (whatever it was) would no doubt find her and-

Then what?

She had no intention of finding out. She didn't want to speculate anymore either; it was giving her a serious headache.  
She turned herself to the entrance of the area and stared as hard as she could through the blindness of the fog. She perked her ears but heard nothing behind the hiss of wind.

She began to take stock on herself and her belongings. She knew her scarf had been lost during her flight from the attacker. This was bad but not terrible. Her snow gear would have to do and she had a couple of scarves left at home anyway. Her cap was still on her, though it prickled her scalp. Frightened but curious she ran her hand over the spot that hurt.

There was whiteness all around her and her gloves went to her head white but came back stained with blots of dark color that made her mind go blank…

Tawny came back to herself. She found her body crouched with one hand on the frozen ground and the other lightly holding her head. Dizzy but understanding her situation more now she felt firm resolve form around her pain, resolve to make it to see the sunrise. She would make it beyond this thing that stalked her and this storm. Her only option was to make it to the morning light.

She felt strangely sad as she remembered the beautiful sunrises she had seen in the Brrrgh. They were spectacular streaks of rose and fiery oranges with purples looming above and below waiting for dusk to take the brightness away. Looking up now she saw only scraps of moonlight filtered through thinner parts of the whiteout. It didn't seem right in a way; that this vicious night could give way to wonderful light. Would the true damage be masked behind the veneer of something colorful and bright?

Tawny Lea sighed, the fact remained the same: she was in a very bad place and had to get away. She secured her cap as well as she could to her head, cursing through the pain and hoping it would lessen sooner rather than later.  
Going back to her supply check she found with dismay that her Pouch was torn noticeably and her Gags had been either smashed to uselessness or lost altogether. The baked Gags were frozen crumble cake and the ones made of other materiel had gotten punctured or bent. She suddenly truly realized that  
Gags were never designed to take more than the initial damage they would deal; they always disappeared or disintegrated after they were used once. It had never been a big deal and had been the way of things since before she had been born. If your Gags got spent you just got more, that was it. There was no other option unless you either got really creative or found some dealer of bizarre weapons, the latter of which she knew next to nothing about.

Tawny had an idea how it happened. The thing that went after her (she imagined it as a mix between a large Cog and a yeti), must've torn her Pouch with its claws or something to get at her Gags so she couldn't use them against it. With its powerful hands it probably squished half of everything as it grabbed her, and left the rest to chance. Or maybe it had meant to steal or destroy EVERYTHING but getting knocked in the head with that pie foiled that plan. She hoped the thing that hurt her got fruit filling all in its face. Next she should-

A crash of thunder cut her short.

Startled, Tawny pocketed her battered Pouch and looked towards the street. The pine trees appeared to be shivering in the gale. But one of the pines closer to the entrance of the pond area shook violently as a figure fell from it. The thunder wasn't from the storm… Something had fallen on a trashcan!

The world changed, subtly and very dramatically at the same time.  
The screaming snowstorm suddenly could not screech loud enough to be heard. The only thing she could hear now was a harsh voice cutting through the white darkness. The white darkness itself crept through the night, warping what should be so familiar to something entirely off. The evergreen trees no longer trees but blotches of dark, unidentifiable color. The buildings lost distinction, whether they were Toon or Cog was no longer evident. Even in silhouette it was always clear who currently owned the building, but now the world was losing sense in a way Tawny never expected. Sure she was a Toon, she was used to the many odd and hilarious happenings in day to day life, but these were not ordinary circumstances at all.

This was more like madness than anything else.

The figure had picked itself up, though it had not moved since then. Was it thinking about what to do? Was it waiting for her to make a move? Peering through the blur she saw it was tall, thin, and seemed to exude a cold menace that nearly froze Tawny to the spot.  
Its eyes suddenly came into view, though everything else was obscured like she was blind. The eyes…red as a coal plucked from a roaring fire. And they made her feel incredibly alone and afraid, like it was talking to her. Telling her she was all alone and no one was there to help her.  
Tawny couldn't help but agree, but she had a determination that came through surprisingly strong: She would save herself.

Author's note: Decided to move this around a bit, less clash of emotion that way.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a decidedly uneventful day.

Bloodsucker L926-3 had done relatively little today. His workload and 'Do These Right Now' orders had been lacking. He supposed it was because of the severity of the blizzard soon to hit. The warnings from Cog satellites had been serious enough that the Chief Justice ordered all Lawbots doing non-essential tasks to remain either in Headquarters or wherever they were situated. Not only that; but Intelligence reported that Toons were avoiding excursions today, and instead were preparing. Three had overheard expressions of satisfaction and perhaps disbelief around the office over the fact that the foolhardy Toons were being sensible for once.

Indeed, those strange creatures regarded things with such levity that it boggled the mind. They ran their operations as though their resources would last forever and never stopped to consider implications or consequences.  
They laughed, sang, danced, ate foods with ridiculous amounts of sugars, and casually defied the Laws set not only by the Chief Justice but also the Laws of physics and reason.

It all seemed exceptionally frivolous to Three and his fellows.

Finished now with even what could be considered trivial paperwork, Three stood and stretched his joints. After a moment he carefully picked up his stack of papers and brought them to the Big Wig sitting at the desk near the entrance of the room.

The Big Wig, designated L845-6, glanced over the stack for errors, but did not scrutinize with any real enthusiasm. This was a surprising behavior from Six, as it was well known amongst the workers of this office that he was gunning wholeheartedly for an even higher position than a max level Big Wig. Three suddenly felt uncertain. Should he address this change in behavior in a  
concerned way? Should it be mentioned at all?

"Not as much to file away today really." Six's low voice cut through the Bloodsucker's thoughts and he blinked, attention refocused. Was there a hint of melancholy in the big Lawbot's inflection?

"Yes, it seems the Toons are not coming anywhere near Headquarters today." Three replied simply.

The marauding Toons keeping away meant there were considerably fewer reports to write up and file away. Was this the cause of the problem?

The Big Wig stared at the lower Lawbot for a moment, typed something quickly into the computer at his side, and looked back.

Three quite suddenly noticed the stillness all around them. The others must have left for the night already. He supposed he must've been more absorbed in his work than he realized.

Six's gaze drifted to the high window, where the sun's few discernible rays of light were being swallowed up by massive grey clouds.

"You don't seem on point tonight, is something wrong?" Three ventured, hoping it would be taken well.

Six looked back at Three; there was a glimmer of…something in the Cog's eyes. And just as quickly as it was spotted, it vanished.

"There have been reports of erratic and unprecedented behavior from Cogs of all classifications. It seems to strike randomly and the Technicians can't figure its pattern or cause," Six admitted, looking more troubled the more he spoke, "And they say it's relatively rare now, but it could elevate quickly if given time…"

That sounded dreadful. Three hazarded a question: "Is it a virus or malicious program?"

"None of the Techs know right now, it's been too difficult to catch the Cogs who exhibit the affliction."

The Big Wig looked rather shaken by last sentence, at which Three decided to not ask any more questions.

"Don't bring it up to anyone right now, we don't need a panic or inefficient action from those who can't do anything about it—That's what I was told, so I am telling you as well. Do good on that." Six warned with what authority he could muster.

The Bloodsucker nodded gravely. Six must've seen something actually happen. Cogs were rarely affected by simple reports or statistics.

He wondered what kind of strange and disturbing symptoms the afflicted were showing, but thought it best not to ask. He started towards the overlarge exit door.

"Before you go dock for the night Three," The Big Wig said quickly, as though the memory had just struck him, "You have been doing very well in your work; you have been selected for a meeting on general and specific productivities and policies."

Three felt a spark of pride rise through him, his work had been noticed! Perhaps he would be selected for the Jury soon enough.

Three must've been smiling to a degree, as Six gave him a wary smile back. He then told the lower Cog that he was to report there at once, as it was being conducted rather soon. The pale Cog thanked his superior and hurried off.

The hallways were mostly empty Three observed. It felt wrong somehow, given the usual bustle. And he had never realized how quiet it was without the sound of movement and professional chatter. He hoped the cause was simply because it was later than he knew and since there was little else to do everyone else had docked for the night.

As he reached a lobby he looked down the largest walkway, the one intended for Toons to go through, and noted with a mixture of a certain smugness and relief that none of the annoying animals were sneaking. Which among other things it meant there were none that would try to pick a fight with him. Of course, he would see them before they ever saw him. He and several branching paths were hidden from Toon view with clever bits of cloaking technology that Cog HQs employed daily.

Toons, although adventurous and supposedly careful, tended to take things at face value and nothing else.

Bots that worked from any of their respective Headquarters always found it amusing (in their own Cog-like way) that the Toons never thought as to why in the world any proper place of work would have any sort of pointless obstacles. Things like lava pools, haphazardly stacked boxes and stompers were there entirely because Toons never understood that these ridiculous pitfalls were a distraction and nothing more. This was even more evident for the inane traps that Attorney Offices used regularly.

Not only that, but facilities Cogs allowed Toons into weren't even guarded by real Cogs. They were simple robots with no real personality or function beyond being fodder for Toons. Detestable to some, but good for keeping collateral damage down. After all, if those battle happy animals found no one to fight they would immediately become suspicious and search for someone to attack.

But thankfully no one at all was coming down any of the halls at the moment. Three moved past two Sentry Goons that were resting instead of actively guarding the lobby due to lack of any activity.

They whirred to attention at his footsteps. The Goons flashed their gaze over him and let out a bleeping sound, almost like they were disappointed. Immediately after that they moved back to their positions by the walls and went back to Standby.

As the Bloodsucker neared the conference room he wondered about how much intelligence Goons really had, the secret he had been told, why Six had forgotten about something so important for him until just that moment, and what terrible things could be happening because not even the Techs could figure out what was going on.


	5. Chapter 5

Tawny Lea knew she was in a bad way.

Alone in a blizzard with a stinging pain in her head and only one enigmatic being for company definitely qualified as dangerous. It made her recall things she had read some time ago, stories of adventure and drama. The insane or insanely dangerous situations that the characters got into made her feel more appreciative of her own relatively safe and simple life. She relished the escapism but had always felt a little relieved when she could put the book down and return to her normal life.

But this was not a book, not a movie, and most certainly not something that she could just walk away from.

Snow muffled footsteps echoed through her head.

Once more her conviction for survival shone through the fog like a lighthouse. She would tear victory from the jaws of defeat. Nothing was going to stop her from her goal of escaping this beast.

With this renewed strength of will she met the thing's gaze.

The monster's eyes regarded her and there was… what? A feeling. What kind of feeling? She tried to see, tried to understand what was happening. She felt very alone and uncertain, her sense s confused and her body fatigued. She knew she had to get away but had little idea where to start… And why was this happening when she was just trying to help others? There were far too many questions and far too few answers. It made her thoughts run in a downward spiral toward murky darkness.

Then there was a quiet voice, so soft that she wasn't even sure how she was hearing it over the roar in her head and the angry wind and snow. It told her to just give up; he could see how tired and afraid she was…

He?

That sudden distinction that made her mind snap back to reality. It felt similar to a dream that ends when lucidity sparks a realization that small details are different than what it they were in real life. And after that you wake knowing none of it was really real at all.

Jerking her head up sharply she noticed that it (he?) had moved a good deal closer to her. It was hard to see anything besides those eyes…Those eyes which held a very unpleasant smile in them. Nothing else was distinct about the thing making its way closer and closer.

And then a recollection came to her in a sluggish way.

It reminded her of one of those hypnotists she saw occasionally at shows and on TV. They told you things and you felt inclined to do them because they had put you in a different state of mind. The hypnotist usually had the Toon in question do something ridiculous and everyone laughed and things were all right and no one was getting hurt or followed and things made sense…

The blurry world howled again, silent and yet still somehow as loud as a fog horn.

With great difficulty Tawny Lea forced her eyes away from that dreadful gaze. She made her mind wake and commanded her body to move through the senseless chill.

Abruptly free, the Dog's reasoning and ability returned.

Incredibly confused, but wasting no time on contemplation Tawny ran towards and past the thing with the red eyes (which she didn't dare look at again). The creature, apparently surprised that his prey had escaped, was slower to react and consequently the Toon had just enough time to flee the pond area and the burning stare.

This fact was perfectly fine with Tawny, who took that opportunity put on full speed towards what she dearly hoped wasn't a wall.

She had had little luck this night, but some still seemed to be with her because she didn't crash through anything more solid than smoke in her flight.  
Suddenly a dark space appeared before her, dark grey within the white blindness.

A tunnel.

She slowed her frantic pace somewhat. She tried to look about, to peer through the mist and snow, but no building make itself known. A fearful thought struck her as she slowed down further: this was her only hope. She had to place her faith in her luck as she had little doubt that the thing would catch her if she tried to run in the other direction…and what if she was going the wrong way then? But what if she was going the wrong way now? What if…  
Tawny Lea's confidence began to plummet dangerously quickly. She stopped, the grey tunnel loomed a few feet away, uncaring to her plight.

And then a voice, no more than a whisper, spoke to her.

"There is no running from your fate."

The Dog spun around in shock but she could still see scarcely more than her own nose and the deeper darkness of her only hope. She shivered, not only because of the cold; but because it sounded as though the storm itself had started talking to her. Its voice felt as cold as permafrost and threatening as a venomous snake.

For one agonizing moment the Toon was frozen in place, terrified. The wind kicked up even more frightfully than before. It stirred the thick strands of fog into a frenzied swirl; but through the sudden crazed dance the whiteout lost some power. She was able to catch glimpses of shapes and trees …and one tall, thin something moving with some trouble through the blasting currents of air and ice.

Though it was hardly comforting to know that he (whoever he was) was talking to her (and was very close) at least it wasn't a great and spiteful force of nature trying to take her down.

The thought of lunacy crossed her mind, thinking that a storm could have a persona, a voice, seemed out of bounds in term of even Toonyness. But in her current state Tawny refused to rule anything out. This strange thing's ability to control and the way the world seemed to be falling apart at the seams was proof enough that things could be far more than they appeared to be.  
Tawny Lea felt in her heart that if she gave this stranger power over her it would all spiral out of control. Her fear, her uncertainty, all her pain would be magnified by intense, red eyes. And what would happen then?

She would give up-

-But that was not going to happen.

She ran to the tunnel, away from the howling wind, and away from another, even more frightening howl of anger.

Tawny Lea emerged from the darkness into a world of shining metal, gleaming marble, and grey-black skies. The blizzard was lesser here, as though the place was somewhat disconnected from the Brrrgh. Because of this she could observe outlines of inexplicable skyscrapers in the distance and smoke mingling with the fog.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw statues of a distinguished figure holding a book and gavel. She knew where she was; she had heard the reports, seen the pictures.

Lawbot HQ.


	6. Chapter 6

**Short one this time around, college started again.**

Night time – 11:13 pm

Exterior camera no. 2

Basic functions currently operational- visibility lowered due to fog.

There is a dog Toon stumbling through the obscured Courtyard.

There are no Lawbots to engage Toon.

Alert security?

Determining…

No Toons allowed on premises at any time. Alert security.

Processing….

Checksum error.

Retrying…

Communication error.

Retrying in 5 s…

System errors founD.

….. Checking….

Afjja[[[w-w-Warning. System errors found!

found…]]]

aaAbort process?!

Warning! Severe malfunction detected. Shut down to prevent critical-

Distantly the snowstorm tore on and over everything in its path, sounding its fury even through walls that were connected by vaguely defined means to the Brrrgh. Here was a different world.

A buzz emitted from the lights far above. Normally it was never really noticeable to anyone. Lawbots simply tuned it out and Toons were too busy gallivanting about the place to pay attention to the small details. Now the absence of activity allowed the unnatural drone to permeate the entire area.

Nothing was moving in the Lawbot Courtyard. The wind had died down for the moment and the soupy fog had settled back into a thick, almost inert mass. No Cogs patrolled, no Toons sped through, and now even the untended snow lay scattered and idle on the ground.

Then slowly and very cautiously a tiny figure trod through the murk with quiet footfalls. She walked through an immense emptiness. Pausing for a moment to try to strain her senses the figure felt incredibly alone and scared. A single character against a frightening backdrop of steel and brick.

Tawny listened hard and heard no footsteps. Even then there was a serious doubt brewing in Tawny's mind that refused to leave.

What did that thing mean? Was it really the right thing to run? Why was she so tired? Where even was she in this terrible cold place?

Was she even doing the right thing?

…Why was she questioning her own motivation for survival?

Mechanically Tawny Lea moving forward, knowing that despite her dread she needed to keep moving if she wanted to keep her head above that dark water of fear and confusion.

Her progress through the Courtyard felt agonizingly slow though she was moving at as fast as she dared.

After a few startles that turned out to be only the wind, Tawny Lea reached an entrance. She didn't know where it led since its name was hidden by the persisting fog

Just as she started to debate if she should go through the door sparks flew through the empty space nearby. A miniature arc of lightning shot into the ground a moment later a melted chunk of plastic plopped to the floor, smoldering slightly.


	7. Chapter 7

No one was out tonight.

The crackle of unseen electricity and strong storm bands making their way across Toontown had everyone spooked. The news of the massive blizzard about to slam into the Brrrgh did little to help that. Toons far removed from the situation shivered in sympathy and were thankful they weren't there. Not that they would admit that of course. They wanted to be supportive in some way, but they didn't want to venture outside their Neighborhood 'til the danger was gone.

The volatile nature of this night had made even the brave hide in their homes.

There was always one though.

He was a tall black cat who looked like he had somewhere important to be. Red eyes flecked with grey scanned the street for anyone or anything. Cogs, Toons, stray Doodles, or even the secret machines that no one was supposed to know about.

Nothing.

While he was happy that there were no Toons about, he wasn't sure how to feel about the lack of Bots. They were always there, performing their routines and tasks like clockwork. But now there were none. So now his only company was stray bits of plant debris and litter.

It was bizarre, but useful for tonight since he was going to see one of his true friends. And he knew that either side, Cog or Toon, would have thought of it as a strange dynamic. So no one to bother him was a blessing really.

Thunder growled and a few drops of rain splashed down on his head. He looked up, the clouds were dark and ready to let loose. A moment later an unusually chill wind blew them on. That would keep the rain away for the moment. No promises for the future though.

Not that he minded either way. He hadn't been scared of rain in a long time.

The cat took a deep breath and hurried on. A growing feeling told him that this storm was only a foreshadowing of what was to come.

Rain swollen clouds hovered moodily on the horizon, waiting to cover the moon again.

But at the moment the moon shone unhindered. It glowed like a nightlight; not very brightly, but comforting enough.

He stared at the sky and thought. For a moment he was young again, alone, with none but the crescent moon's faint light to show him his way. He remembered then that he had wished hard that night. He had wanted the wafer thin moon to shine brighter and light his path to happiness and belonging.

But even as a young one he knew that nothing would happen, and nothing could be done about it. The moon had a clear cycle of waxing and waning just as the sun had its task of dawn 'til dusk. The cat was also quite painfully aware that you never really got what you wanted when you really wanted it. Some things never changed.

Except when they did.

Wires crossed, fuses shorted, ocean waves ebbed and flowed just like time and memory. Nothing is permanent, nothing is safe from change. The lanky cat that moved through the shadows gracefully had learned with well.

His life had been shaped by odd circumstance and chance. It would be foolish to think that anything was truly stable in this world.

_Nothing lasts forever…  
_  
He shook his head, why was he feeling so grim suddenly? Sure things had been hard, but shouldn't he feel better since he was on his way to his friend? What was-

"Hello Wolf."

The black cat grinned, dread temporarily forgotten as a Mr. Hollywood stepped out from behind an overgrowing tree.

"TMoL, you always were good about being punctual."

The Sellbot offered a weak smile.

These two had lives that were strangely intertwined. Wolf had been a child found in Sellbot Headquarters. With nothing to his name, no name in the first place, and no one to call family, he simply wandered. He explored Daisy's Garden until he discovered a pipe behind some glaring grey buildings that never went away.

Curious, as cats were, he went into it. As he emerged from the ink slick pipe he encountered a place entirely unlike the one he had been in. The colors were subdued, the sky was dark with smoke, and the smell of oil and machines were all around. For the first time this young Toon felt an odd sense of peace. It was so unlike the world that had abandoned him, and he liked it.

He had observed that the strange, tall, dark clothed robots all over the streets outside were roaming here as well. He also took in the constant battles between them and the Toons. Saw them express a hate he didn't understand.

Sitting in the pipe he saw several of the robots walk nearby, and out of instinct he pressed himself into the inky darkness. He had the distinct feeling that while the colorful world of Toons had never really seen him, he would be immediately spotted here. He also had the idea that since he was a Toon the robots would try to attack him or throw him out. With these cautious thoughts in his head the nameless Toon decided to stay in his hiding spot; away from the gaze of the sharp eyed machines that occasionally passed by.

S142-0 was a Cog with no purpose. Unfortunate happenstance had turned what would have otherwise been a perfectly productive Cog into a wreck. As a Skelecog he had gotten hit with a double blast of seltzer from two gallivanting Toons. The other Skelecogs working with Zero were quick to send the two young Toons crying; but it was much too late for the newly made Mr. Hollywood Skelecog.

Hard data showed that key sections of Zero's circuitry -specifically areas that governed emotions and opinions- had been damaged by the fizzy water. The cause for the vulnerability was found to be several faulty seals. Maintenance and Repair did what they could, but the effect was irreversible.

With that in mind, it was evident in the internal damage assessment (and the mutterings) that this unfortunate Sellbot's feelings had switched to the point of uselessness. Normally Cogs do not have extreme emotional reactions at all, and they tended to pride themselves for their professionalism in the face of Toonyness. But due to Zero's newly discovered abnormal specs and circumstances he thought Cogs were terrible and Toons were better in every way.

As the Technicians and Zero's superiors began to debate about what to do with him, Zero quickly took in his situation. He already knew that if he didn't escape something terrible would happen. Something always did to Bots with major flaws.

When the other Cogs had their backs turned for a moment to look over data and specifications the Skelecog slipped away. They apparently hadn't expected him to be otherwise functional in the face of his current defects.

He made his way through the lesser used corridors of Sellbot Headquarters as though nothing had happened. None of his former fellows knew of the incident yet, so when they saw him they didn't bother him. Consequently he made it to the edges of the HQ with no interference.

The black cat and the Mr. Hollywood Skelecog found each other on the outskirts of the HQ. Neither was hostile to the other; they had no reason to fight or hate. And curious, as cats were, the Toon asked the Cog what he was, and where he was going. As the two talked about their short lives, they saw that they were on the fringe of their respective sides of the coin: a non-productive Cog and a Toon who didn't want to fight. Their friendship formed quickly.

The two were just as quickly found and apprehended.

For the first time since he had been at the Headquarters, the cat felt afraid. These robots looked similar to his friend, but seemed very much like the ones outside: intense and cold.

He rarely spoke at all but he found his voice as they began to drag Zero away.

"Why are you taking him away? Don't!"

This gave the higher level Sellbots pause. Zero sensed an opportunity and spoke what he knew might be the only thing to save them both.

"The cat and I want to work together. Given the circumstances I think this would be a potentially useful venture for the Sellbots."

His superiors looked at him; it was obvious that they couldn't explain the cat's apparent affection for this Skelecog. Seizing the chance Zero quickly spoke again.

"This Toon is non-hostile and young, if given the time to be taught he could become an asset to us. I can personally train him."

They were immediately skeptical, but not immediately dismissive, which was more than either could have hoped for.

Deciding that Zero and the cat could have a use, they took the matter to the Vice President.

The VP was in a good mood due to the recent string of promotions he had given. His smiling face greeted the group, but his eyes narrowed as he eyed the cat.

The highest level Hollywood stated the problem succinctly. Zero did not miss the somewhat optimistic view the higher-up painted. It was a huge, but not unwelcome, surprise. The gist of what was said was: the Sellbots had two individually useless things that, if paired together could become reasonably valuable.

The VP could easily be considered the kindest of the Bosses. He was generally charismatic and cared about his Sellbots in a more personal way than any of the other Bosses ever showed. Given his nature and how the idea was described, the VP agreed. Though there were conditions, as always.

_One_. The Toon must be controlled, taught, and cannot cause trouble.

_Two_. The two cannot be seen working together by Toons.

_Three_. Both of them must remain an asset, or no further resources would be wasted on them. Decisions on their fate would be discussed promptly after that.

An addendum was added shortly after this agreement was reached.

_Four_. Zero must keep his opinions to himself.

Zero was never in his original designation, but it was changed immediately and applied retroactively on all records to distinguish the Mr. Hollywood, now clad in a suit and skin plates. Whether this was instated on a cruel whim or for some actual reason was never disclosed.

The name Zero decided on for the cat was Wolf. It sounded appropriately dangerous and vaguely mysterious, which was good as far as convincing the others that they still had a purpose.

Wolf in turn gave Zero a name in hopes of helping him feel better, TMoL. It was from some confiscated book where numbers and fish were the meaning of life. Since S142-0 had 42 in it, Wolf joking deemed the Mr. Hollywood The Meaning of Life. The two of them never discussed the irony of this choice, because TMoL was content to be something other than nothing. This also helped him ignore the fact that the name Zero would be with him always.

The defective Hollywood's spur of the moment plan had worked, and now all of these years later the two remained best friends.

They sat on a bench lost in shadows, caught up, and speculated about the oncoming storms. The moon was covered by dark and growling clouds now.  
Wolf couldn't help but see how distracted TMoL was. He hoped It wasn't due to the high chance of rain. His friend had always been skittish when it rained.

For a moment neither said anything. They simply stayed side by side and watched a stiff breeze topple one of those ridiculous mailboxes that never stopped moving.

"Good night Wolf."

The black cat looked up, startled.

"You going already?"

TMoL looked at Wolf, the natural Hollywood smile slipped.

"I was thinking of going somewhere else for a while. Not Sellbot Headquarters….Not any of the HQs even." The Mr. Hollywood sighed deeply, "Something bad is happening Wolf, something terrible and no one even knows how to explain it yet."

Wolf, very concerned for his friend could not resist asking as soon as he could:  
"What's going on T?"

The Sellbot sat on the ground now, almost like being closer to the earth would ground him. He looked sicker than Wolf thought a robot could. The cat, uncertain, sat on the wet grass as well and waited. He realized uncomfortably that TMoL was so worried that he didn't even care about the probability of rain or a soggy suit.

"When I woke up a few days ago things were off. No one was saying much, not that they really talk to me. Anyway, later that day reports of a few random Cogs acting crazy and attacking Toons, even other Cogs came through. Though I heard it from Five, you know Five don't you? The Number Cruncher? I asked him since the higher ups wouldn't tell me anything because they don't think they need to bother with me. Anyway, after the crazy ones got caught a day or two later, tests started on them to find out if they had glitches or something… and they just _exploded_."

Wolf couldn't think of what to say beyond the obvious. "Exploded? Did Toons come in? Fatal Errors? What?"

TMoL shut his eyes tightly and said "From what the Techs who worked on them got before they blew, something altered their basic behavior programs and while it affected them differently it all ended the same. Boom."

Wolf felt confused, not only from this shocking information, but also why his friend was so nervous over the others' fate. TMoL hated other Cogs besides a select few; he wouldn't care unless it affected either him or his friends.

The black cat decided to ask and hope for the best, "Why are you freaking out so much? I know this is serious, but you don't like other Bots…"

S142-0 opened one eye and took a breath.

"They might come after me. Decommission me or worse."

The Toon's mouth went dry as his heart sped up. The Sellbot continued, melancholy.

"They might want to test me because of these reports. You know, because I am sad all the time and have abnormal specs. I do think that if I don't have what they want then that's my curtain call. You do know that the only reason I was never taken out of the picture back then was because of you. The VP was persuaded because he has a kind enough heart to care about his Cogs. But now? I think things are going to get real bad for us."

For a while neither of them said anything. What could be said? What could possibly make this okay?

Grey-red eyes met sad black ones. There was nothing he could really do to make this okay, but he could try.

"I'll come with you T."

The strange Mr. Hollywood smiled slightly as they both got up and exchanged a small hug.

"I've got no ties to anyone, Cog or Toon, if they don't involve you. "Wolf said, smiling back.

He knew he had to be brave; even if in the back of his mind he could not shove away the thought that had been plaguing him.

_Nothing lasts forever…_


End file.
